UNCLOS passage would boost U.S. credibility

Thursday, November 15, 2012

The United States should sign the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Treaty, says Melissa Bert, chief of the maritime and international law division at the Coast Guard. But during a speech on Wednesday at a conference organized by the North American Marine Environment Protection Association Bert said she did not expect to see adoption soon. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., would like to bring it to a vote in the lame duck Congress, she said, but added “I don't know that that is going to happen. But for those of you in the maritime industry, I think it is important and I would like to see it ratified in my lifetime.” Ratification of the treaty would give the United States more credibil...